Archive for July, 2011|Monthly archive page

“I’m sure this comes as something of a shock to you. Please, let me explain a little more about the condition, and then I can answer any questions you might have.”

I stare blankly at her. She continues:

“Traditionally, we define the Fregoli delusion as a disorder where the patient is convinced that the different people they meet are in fact a single person. Sometimes that person will have slight changes in appearance, or wears a disguise. However, in your case, that single person you see is yourself, albeit in multiple forms and roles.”

Then she drops the bomb. “You see, your last doctor was nothing more than a figment of your imagination.”

“What?”

“Your daughter explained your head injury. There may be a lesion on your brain causing changes in your mood and behavior, and may be a contributing factor to hallucinations or delusions you’ve been suffering from. We think you may be suffering from the Fregoli delusion. We’d like to run some additional tests to confirm this.”

“You may have noticed your organs and limbs aren’t in flux. And I’m sure you think there’s some sort of dampening field here to keep you captive, which I assure you isn’t the case. I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot lately, but we really do want to help.”

“Bullshit. You’ve got an agenda. Everybody does. Although I do appreciate the field you’ve got here…it’ll prevent that terrible slipping between world problem.”

“Miss Jones, I know your last physician told you this, but you’re not well.”

On the other hand, that same damn dampening field is at work here, so I might as well be tied up.

The door clicks, a key slides into place, and turns.

A tall blonde woman in a white jacket comes in, washes her hands, and sits in the chair across from my examination table. She peers at some pink papers on a clipboard, and I notice (with great relief) that the exam table doesn’t have any stirrups.

“Ms. Jones?” she says, bringing me back from a nasty train of thought, “I’m Carmella Antony.”